Bruno Stachel
Leutnant Bruno Stachel was a German infantryman who fought in the trenches in World War I. The Blue Max (1966) He came from a low class background, his father working in a hotel. He was the sole survivor of a particularly dangerous charge across open enemy terrain. Hiding in a trench, he looked up and saw German fighter planes from the Luftstreitkräfte arriving to fend off enemy troops. Inspired, he had but one desire from that moment on: to become a pilot. After achieving the rank of leutnant, he applied for a transfer, and was sent to learn flying under Hauptmann Otto Heidemann, arriving to replace a recently killed pilot. Except for Heidemann, Stachel faced severe prejudice from the other pilots because of his low class background, with them all being noblemen or the sons of noble. His rival quickly became Leutnant "Willi" von Klugermann, the highly gifted nephew of Generaloberst von Klugermann. After observing that Hauptmann Heidemann had won the coveted Pour le Mérite and that Willi was close to winning one himself, Stachel, eager to show up his blueblood allies and prove his worth, strove to gain enough kills to obtain the medal. His first kill was unconfirmed, although he and Obergefreiter Rupp searched for it, they failed to find it. This angered Heidemann, who felt that Stachel was wasting time and resources looking for a plane he wasn't likely to find, and he attempted to reassure Stachel that there were lost planes and unconfirmed kills all the time. Nevertheless, Stachel angrily took Heidemann's refusal to count the kill as a personal insult. His next time out, he encountered a British plane. He seemingly killed the gunner, and motioned for the pilot to fly back to the German, intending to take him prisoner. Halfway there, however, the gunner revived and made a move as though going for his machine gun. Stachel reflexively fired, killing him and damaging the plane, which crashlanded on the airfield. The Germans tried and failed to revive the enemy pilot, who died. An angry Stachel then demanded Heidemann confirm the kill, which caused Heidemann to believe Stachel had intentionally brought the captured enemy plane to the airfield just to shoot it down in full view of everyone. He considered this extremely dishonorable, but Stachel denied it, and maintained he had seen the gunner for his weapon. Nevertheless, the act of almost capturing a British plane with its pilot alive caught the attention of Willi's uncle, Generaloberst von Klugermann. Even as Willi won the Pour le Mérite, von Klugermann thought he saw great potential in Stachel, especially given his background. Von Klugermann began slowly grooming Stachel for greatness. This stirred jealously and hatred in Willi, whose rivalry with Stachel continued unabated and ended with his death during a flying contest between the pair, after which Stachel, whose machine guns had jammed while flying as Willi's escort, claimed two of Willi's kills as his own when reporting back to Heidemann. He stuck to this story even when the mechanics discovered the jammed guns. The gulf between Stachel and Heidemann grew, even as Stachel grew closer and closer to von Klugermann and his grand plans for the young pilot. He assisted von Klugermann in designing a new single-wing plane, which they presented to Feldmarschall von Lenndorf and attempted to sell him on the idea. Stachel, becoming arrogant and feeling he could get away with anything, slept with von Klugermann's unfaithful wife, and made the mistake of confiding in her that he'd stolen her nephew's kills and claimed them as his own. Shortly after Stachel finally won the Pour le Mérite, his relationship soured with Countess von Klugermann, who, in a fit of rage following their breakup, told von Lenndorf about the two falsely claimed kills. He in turn informed von Klugermann just before the maiden flight of the experimental monoplane. Von Klugermann was enraged. Not just that his wife had slept with Stachel and the Stachel had betrayed him, but because he feared an official inquiry into the matter by von Lenndorf. Such a scandal surrounding a Pour le Mérite winner could destroy the reputation of the entire German officer corps. Stachel was sent off with von Klugermann's aide Major Holbach until von Klugermann figured out what to do with him, and without being told why. Heidemann flew the monoplane and although he successfuly landed the aircraft, he reported to von Klugermann that its wing struts were weak and it needed further research and development. A short time later, von Klugermann, without telling Heidemann, asked Stachel to take the plane up for a second flight, intended for him to die in a crash to avoid a scandal. Completely unaware, Stachel agreed, and took off just as Heidemann figured what was happening. Heidemann watched horrified, and von Klugermann impassively, as the recently awarded pilot lost control of the plane due to the weak struts and died in a horrific crash. The Blue Max (1964) In the novel Stachel is a deeply troubled alcoholic with a penchant for lying. Obsessed with earning the last of the new Fokker D.VIIs, he kills Willi to obtain it. In the novel Heidemann exhibits an immediate favoritism toward the newcomer, and credits Stachel with his first victories while Kettering, the squadron adjutant, refuses to comply until Heidemann orders him to do so. At the end of the novel, Heidemann reveals that he has been secretly boosting Stachel's achievements as part of an experiment in publicity management. Stachel earns his Blue Max not from 20 victories, but by destroying three aircraft and capturing one after Heidemann's guns jam. (Stachel is so drunk, he cannot even recall the engagement.) He is also honoured for saving the life of a French girl who falls into a river. Stachel does not die in the book, and in fact meets the future commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, then-Hauptmann Hermann Göring.Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Stachel, Bruno Category:Corporals